Messages From Home
by Comus
Summary: Takes place post-anime. Humans came from Earth to Gunsmoke. It was a great exodus, an undertaking that was perhaps the greatest work of mankind. But what of those left behind? Chapter 5 up. Please, READ AND REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

This is my Disclaimer. I wrote it, so therefore I own a section of writing that states I do NOT own other things that I have written about. Odd, isn't it? Anyway, I don't own Trigun, Vash, Meryl, Millie, Knives, as well as hundreds of other things. Maybe it would be easier to say what I DO own in this story. That would be the plot presented in these writings, Ankhon, Venca, and the one-shot and main storyline villains in these stories.  
  
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Messages From Home: Chapter One - Shady Business  
  
It was dusk on planet Gunsmoke. A month ago, in an incident known only to a very few people on the planet, Vash the Stampede defeated Knives, a person of incredible evil - and his own brother. It seemed as though things would quiet down for a while, that humanity was safe for a time on this nearly inhospitable planet. It seemed that way.  
In August City, a man sat in a bar, quietly drinking in a corner with his back to the wall. Several times conversation was extended towards him, but every time, it was met with a glare and discarded. He was a man of somewhat short stature, somewhat frail looking. Navy blue hair tied in a loose ponytail cascaded down to his waist. He wore a light gray cloak, edged in maroon. Hints of a black jumpsuit were barely visible in it's shadowy folds. Gloves covered his hands, the same gray as the cloak. There was an odd aura about the man. He was somehow dangerous, even though he was pale and sickly looking. Frail, but with an undeniable and indescribable strength.  
As the man sat there, a sheriff accompanied by several strong men with shotgun and revolvers entered the saloon. They took nearly no time at all to spot him.  
"You there! In the corner!"  
The man looked up. His eyes were the faded red color of drying blood. Looking into his eyes was as looking into an abyss of pure threat.  
"You are under arrest!" All of the men had their guns trained on the odd man; all of the men were terrified of the odd man.  
"For what reason?" The man asked, his voice oddly deep and resonating, as if spoken from the bottom of a well. Or a grave.  
"The murder of dozens of people, including the Steppinforte family in the town no more than twenty Iles from here!"  
"That's all? My, I thought you had a better reason than that."  
"We know who you are, Ankhon the Shade!" The odd man smiled as the sheriff said his name. He enjoyed how the fear of the sheriff and his men, as well as the other patrons in the bar. At least three people fled the bar at the sight of his smile, a vicious smile like that of a most fearsome predator. One of those fleeing was one of the men the sheriff had brought.  
"If you leave now, I won't have to kill you." Ankhon reminded them. "I have no real quarrel with the law. In fact, I greatly respect you for having enough courage to face me here, without an army backing you up. Leave now, and you can tell your grandchildren how you threatened a legendary gunfighter and lived to tell about it."  
"Gunfighter?" The sheriff spat on the floor. "You're nothing but a mercenary, a murderer for the highest bidder!"  
"Last chance." The man's hands disappeared inside his cloak.  
"Shoot him!" The men opened fire. The man didn't even flinch, didn't move an inch. The sheriff allowed himself a smile. They got him! They couldn't have missed an unmoving target at that range!  
The man still stood there. Behind him, tables, floor, and wall were all shattered by the hail of gunfire. He stood there, not a mark or a blemish on him.  
"No! Not... possible!" The sheriff exclaimed. The man smiled again, and drew two submachine guns. His eye seemed to twinkle as he opened fire.  
  
Vash stared at the paper as if just be looking at it hard enough, it would change. Ten men gunned down in August city, by someone calling himself Ankhon the Shade.  
"You see, Vash? I don't even have to destroy them myself. They do it themselves." remarked Knives in his oddly sadistic sarcasm. Vash looked up at him.  
"Remember, Knives, I made you promise to never kill again."  
"It's too bad I can't lie to you, Vash. If I could, I would kill every human on this planet."  
"I know. Thus, the promise."  
"The donuts aren't bad, though." Knives admitted. He reached and took a donut from a box sitting next to Millie. Meryl noticed it.  
"I couldn't believe that Vash the Stampede liked donuts, and I find it even harder to believe that his evil brother likes them too."  
"Evil is a very relative thing. Is it evil to survive, knowing that you will have to eat just to live, and that you will end up killing countless plants and animals over the course of your lifetime?" Knives asked. They were all silent for a moment. All four were in a bus headed for August City. Vash wanted to check out reports of this Ankhon person, to try and stop him. He still felt it was his duty to help the people of this planet. Meryl and Millie had tried to get him to stop, but understood his decision. Even Knives understood a little, that it was as wrong to do nothing about a problem as it was to cause the problem itself.  
  
They reached the city at midday, three days after the shootout at the bar. The first thing the four did, after stowing their gear in a hotel room, was to examine the saloon.  
The building was a total loss. Stone, brick, and wood had all been shattered to the point of making repairs useless.  
"The person that did this used HV ammo." Knives noted.  
"What's HV ammo?" Millie asked. Knives rolled his eyes. Vash sighed.  
"High Velocity. More power. I don't think they have any of that here, at least not enough for something like this." Vash explained.  
"Lost technology?"  
"Yes, as well as the ability to make a gun that can fire it without either melting or blowing apart."  
"Some human must have found a box stowed away on a crashed ship." Knives added.  
"Why are you helping us? I know you hate all of us humans." Meryl asked.  
"I'm helping Vash, the only worthy life form on this planet, in his pointless investigation into what will turn out to be yet another depressing human situation."  
"One more thing." Vash said, cutting Knives off. "They said bullets passed through the person who did this, like he wasn't there." Knives raised an eyebrow.  
"Just an illusion. There's no way to become intangible. It's impossible."  
  
"How much?"  
"Isn't the bounty enough motivation?"  
"No. Money isn't any use to a dead man."  
"If you can manage this, I'll see to it the bounty on your head is nulled."  
"He is too much for anyone to handle."  
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Will you take the assignment?"  
"I can't refuse it."  
"No, you can't."  
  
"I'm almost surprised, Vash." Meryl commented.  
"About what?" Vash asked, through a mouthful of food. Meryl restrained herself from slapping him for talking with his mouth full.  
"For once, we have to go look for trouble instead of having it dropped on our laps."  
"You know I have to do what's right."  
Meryl sighed. "Vash, you've taken it upon yourself to become a self- proclaimed protector of the people on this planet." Meryl poked at what remained of her dinner. Not a very good meal.  
"I'll never understand why you protect them." Knives put in.  
"Oh, come on now Meryl! Let's try to be in a good mood!" Millie said, a slight giggle in her voice. She had already put away a few drinks, and the world was becoming a warm and rosy haze to her already.  
"Humans..." Knives sighed. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was almost becoming used to the company of the two insurance girls. Almost... enjoying their company.  
At that moment, an ominous figure entered the bar. He was dressed all in gray. Conversations ended, and several people got up to leave even before he sat down at the bar.  
"Give me a Starscreamer." He asked the bartender, who shakily and quickly prepared the mixed drink notorious for it's strength and volatility. Few could stomach it, but the man at the bar drank it like it was nothing more than water. He glanced back at Vash, and then motioned to the barstool on his right. Vash excused himself from the table and sat in the indicated seat.  
"Hello, Friend!" Vash said as he sat down. The man looked at him out of the corners of his eyes.  
"You are Vash the Stampede." The man stated, as calmly as if he were speaking about the weather. Vash was caught off guard for a moment. How could the man recognize him?  
"I think you've got me confused with someone else." Vash replied. He would have left the bar then, but something in the man's eyes and tone of voice bade him to stay.  
"I've been hired to kill you." The man noted, between sips of his drink.  
  
"What are they talking about?" Meryl asked, unable to hear the conversation between Vash and the strange man. Knives narrowed his eyes.  
"Who carsh? Meryl, why don't we jusht order another round of drinksh?" Millie asked, her voice slurred.  
"This could be important, Millie!"  
"Both of you be quiet!" Knives snapped. He was starting to get worried. Meryl picked up on that, and it made her even more concerned. Knives, worried?  
  
"Why?" Vash asked, bluntly.  
"I don't know. Not my business. I can't refuse, though."  
"I see. So..."  
"I suppose I should at least be given a fair chance. Say, a quarter ile southeast of the town, at sunrise?"  
"Alright." Ankhon and Vash stood at the same time, Vash taller than Ankhon by several inches. Ankhon's tired, dangerous eyes and casually deadly stance more than making up for it. They shook hands and Ankhon left the saloon, never looking back at Vash. Vash stood there for a few moments, watching him leave, before sitting down with his brother and his friends.  
"What happened?" Meryl asked. Vash looked up at Knives, though. His brother wore a face that seemed almost concerned for Vash.  
"There's a chance he'll kill you, you know." Knives stated. "The Gung- ho Guns were only trying to hurt you, but this man wants you dead."  
"No, he doesn't want me dead, he needs me to die."  
"What are you two talking about?" Meryl demanded, slamming a fist into the table and almost hitting Millie, who had passed out on the table. Knives had been able to hear and understand the softly spoken words at this distance, but she hadn't been able to. Vash looked up at her.  
"I've sorta.... gotten myself into a duel."  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Sunrise, a sharp and sudden brightening of the light. Vash looked across a low, sandy dune at his opponent. Ankhon's gray cloak caught the sunlight, seeming to turn almost the same red color as Vash's old coat. Ankhon didn't seem worried, excited, or even angry. Ankhon seemed to be completely void of emotions.  
"Shall we begin?" Ankhon asked, his voice somhow carrying easily over the distance between them.  
"Whenever you're ready." Vash returned.  
"Draw." Ankhon stated calmly. Vash reacted instantly, firing two shots at the man's shoulder in a heartbeat. Ankhon didn't move an inch, not even to draw his own weapons. Vash expected him to fall to the ground now, with a useless arm. Instead, Ankhon smiled.  
  
"What happened? Did Vash really miss?" Millie asked.  
"I've never seen Vash miss!" Meryl responded, astonished. Knives shook his head.  
"No. Vash just isn't aiming at the right target." Knives corrected. "Remember the saloon Ankhon shot up?"  
"Yes! The entire thing was full of debris!"  
"It was. Like if the shots had come from outside."  
  
Vash watched Ankhon carefully. There had to be a reason for his shots missing their mark.  
"There's a reason they call me Ankhon the Shade." Came a voice from behind. Vash spun to see Ankhon standing behind him, dual submachine guns drawn. Vash narrowly dodged a lethal hail of fire, and returned fire to no effect. It was as if the shots were passing through the man. Vash saw the shots hit the sand and throw up small clouds of sand. He saw something else, just at the edge of his vision. Before his brain could process the information, Ankhon was there. No more than seven feet from him, the gunman opened fire again. Vash threw himself backwards, and was surprised when a shot whizzed just in front of his face, traveling in a direction perpendicular to where Ankhon seemed to be firing from. Vash turned as he fell, but there wasn't anyone standing there. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the sand fly up in a small cloud, too small for him to see if he hadn't been watching for it.  
Vash reacted instantly, firing above the small clouds of sand. His efforts were rewarded with a gasp of unexpected pain. Ankhon faded into view, shot in the gut. As the gunman fell to the ground, curled up around the wound, the Ankhon Vash had seen firing flickered, fuzzed, and finally dissolved in a burst of static.  
  
"What was that all about?" Meryl asked, quite confused.  
"A hologram. Ankhon seems to have quite a bit of lost technology at his disposal." Knives answered. He pointed at the edge of the man's cloak. It seemed to fade into the sand Meryl had thought it was torn or missing, but as she watched, blood ran down over the cloth, clearly showing it was still there, just seemingly invisible. "Therm-optic camouflage. The combination of the two was quite effective."  
"How did Vash know he was there?" Millie asked.  
"He might have been able to disguise his appearance, but he couldn't disguise his footprints."  
  
Vash extended a hand towards the fallen man.  
"Want some help?" He asked, smiling. Ankhon blinked. He didn't reach for the hand. Neither did Vash retract it.  
"I see the rumors are true that you go to great lengths to refrain from killing." Ankhon said, through a haze of pain.  
"I suppose. Now, do you want me to help you get that bandaged up or are you going to sit there all day bleeding to death?" Ankhon snorted, and thinly smiled. He reached for Vash's hand.  
  
"I think I've completely lost track of your thinking process." Meryl remarked. "I can see you traveling with Knives. He's evil, but at least he's family to you. But this Ankhon guy... he's trouble. He tried to kill you, and very nearly did. He'll probably just try again the second you go to sleep!" Vash looked at the man lying on the hotel bed. Ankhon lay there, what lay under his cloak visible for the first time.  
Black jumpsuit, body armor stylized like an external skeleton. Even unconscious, Ankhon radiated a sense of unease and threat. Dried blood decorated his gear like a coat of paint, very little of it his own.  
"A man like that lives on his reputation and trustworthiness." Vash responded. "He'd never get a job if he even once lied or betrayed his employers. He gave me his word that he wouldn't attack any of us. Also, he said something about me being too much trouble to bother with."  
"Vash, I learned a little of his history." Meryl said, changing the subject.  
"Oh? What did you hear?"  
"Apparently, he first appeared in police records at about the age of twelve. He was arrested on charges of grand theft. Ankhon was going to be either sentenced to a long prison term or hung. The case was dropped when all the witnesses went missing, all on the same night. Whole families simply disappeared." Vash's eyes narrowed in thought. "Three years later, he is implicated in the murder of an unpopular businessman. Again, he escaped charges due to lack of evidence and witnesses either disappearing or refusing to testify. Vash, this man was already an expert at murder and cover-ups when he was a little kid!"  
"I see."  
"He dropped out of sight for five years. Then, people started disappearing who were unpopular with the rich, the criminal, and generally anyone who could afford to make someone vanish. Over fifty murders attributed to Ankhon. He gained the demonicer 'the Shade' during this time, for the way he seemed to vanish and perform seemingly impossible feats, like bullets passing through him with no effect."  
"Due to his holograms and therm-optic camo."  
"Yes. That was seven years ago. A bounty was put out on him, nearly a hundred million doubledollars. Not too impressive, compared to yours, and much more dangerous to go after. The police think well over a hundred people died just going after the bounty. In addition, his particular style of assassination leaves few witnesses. He generally goes to the victim's place of residence and just storms the place, killing anyone that gets in his way."  
"So he's a killer that ranks among Knives and Legato."  
"For all we know, he might have killed more people than both of them combined."  
  
"He failed."  
"Unfortunate. He had a high success rate."  
"Indeed."  
"What shall we do?"  
"Activate the spare."  
  
Knives and Ankhon looked across the table at each other. Neither spoke, but each clearly understood the message in the other's eyes. You are a killer, just like me. Knives found something odd about this human. He killed without mercy or hesitation, but neither did he kill if he didn't have to. Perhaps this human was somewhat more evolved than the others. Their measuring up was interrupted a moment later when plates were set on the table, one in front of each of them. Knives looked down and saw eggs and other animal bits.  
"Breakfast is served!" Said Millie cheerfully. Ankhon mumbled thanks and started picking at his meal. Millie left the two alone. When she had gone, Knives spoke to Ankhon.  
"We tried to contact you to become a Gung-Ho Gun."  
"I know."  
"We never found you, only the results of your work. You really are a very highly skilled killer."  
"I've been told that." Ankhon was still picking at his food, seemingly paying little attention to what Knives said. Knives scowled. He hated being ignored.  
  
"You're a fast healer." Meryl said, examining Ankhon's wound. It was healing well, almost too well. Ankhon nodded.  
"Not just me. The jumpsuit I'm wearing is self-sealing. It closes small wounds and helps stop major bleeding."  
"What? Don't you carry any equipment that isn't lost technology?"  
"It's not lost once someone finds it." He pointed out.  
"I mean it. Where did you get all this stuff?"  
"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Ankhon said, so calmly that Meryl never doubted for a second that he was telling the truth. Such a young man to be carrying around horrible crimes and secrets.  
  
"Where will you go?" Ankhon asked, later that day. Vash, sitting near him, glanced up.  
"Not sure. Guess we'll wait around here for a bit then -" Vash stopped as he listened. Something caught his interest. He waited, and heard it again. This time, he understood what it was. Screams, very far away, too faint to be heard by a normal person. Ankhon looked at him quizzically.  
"What is it?" The gunman asked.  
"Trouble." Vash stood. He ran inside and found the girls sitting at one table, Knives alone in a corner.  
"Vash? Is there something wrong?" Meryl asked. Vash nodded.  
"Big trouble. Stay here and keep out of danger."  
"No way! It's our job to keep an eye on you. Besides, we're in safe hands. A human disaster-" She pointed at Vash. "A homicidal maniac-" She indicated Knives, who looked amused at the goings-on. "And a murderous gunman." She gestured towards Ankhon as he entered the building.  
"Fine. Let's go."  
  
Town square was a mess. Bodies littered the streets like trash, and blood ran in streams down the streets. Vash couldn't even find words to express the horror he felt.  
"My god... how could anyone do this?" Vash whispered. Ankhon looked appraisingly at the corpses.  
"Recently killed. Looks like it was done with an edged weapon at high speed." Knives nodded.  
"Yes. Each was wounded a number of times before dying. The killer might have been playing with them."  
"Will you two stop talking about these people like they're nothing more than animals? These were people, with lives and family and people who cared about them!" Meryl yelled.  
"It's so sad!" Millie said, crying. "They never had a chance!"  
"Be quiet for a moment! I hear something!" Vash said. The others quieted, and Knives quickly picked up on what Vash had heard. A low whistle, like the wind. But the air was completely still. Knives searched for a source.  
A blur whipped by him, and was already gone when he felt the pain. Knives looked down and saw a deep cut across his ribs, bleeding profusely. Knives hissed in pain.  
"Watch out! He's fast!" Knives warned. As he did, Millie screamed and fell to the ground with a cut across her left arm. Vash and Ankhon turned to see what was going on, and were both slashed across the back. A look came into Ankhon's eyes, and he drew his weapons. Vash threw himself to the ground.  
"Everybody down!" Vash screamed. They ducked just in time. Ankhon spun in a circle, guns blazing. Predictably, he hit everything around him, reducing the square to rubble. However, he also caught the attacker in the hail of fire. A form, impossibly thin, fell to the ground. Ankhon covered it with his weapons.  
"Who are you?" He asked. The thin form turned slightly to face him. Black eyes stared out of a face barely human at all. Paper-thin skin, bones as thin as pencils. All extra weight removed, in favor of speed. A small serrated knife the only weapon it carried. Hairless, sexless, just a monster created by man.  
"Xerxes..." The thing whispered, in obvious pain. Ankhon had shot it though it's leg. Ankhon stepped up to it.  
"Fine. Now, you are going to tell me everything you know."  
"No..." It gasped. Ankhon raised an eyebrow and stepped forwards again. He could feel a great wave of heat coming from the thing's body. Right before his eyes, the sub-human thing burst into flames. In less than ten seconds it was nothing more than a pile of ashes, even the bones reduced into powder.  
  
"Where did that thing come from?" Vash wondered. "Why did it combust when it was captured?"  
"I can answer at least one of those questions." Knives replied. "It had a hyper-fast metabolism. Running allowed it to use its energy as motion. When Ankhon stopped it, the energy was turned into heat instead." Vash looked at Ankhon, who was leaning against a wall. One of the few walls remaining upright in the square. Vash was suddenly reminded of Monev the Gale, who had also used High-Velocity ammunition to reduce a town to rubble. Vash had to remind himself that Ankhon had done this after the people had been killed, getting revenge for them. But the bodies, the blood, the rubble... It was an unwelcome fact that Vash was nearly used to whole cities being destroyed around him. Ankhon looked up. His expression was unreadable.  
"It came from the desert." Ankhon said. Everyone looked at him. He hesitated, and then continued. "Apparently, my employers decided I failed my mission and sent it to clean up."  
"What? You know where this came from?" Meryl demanded. Ankhon nodded slowly.  
"Yeah."  
"... Are you going to tell us?" Meryl asked when it became apparent Ankhon wasn't going to continue without prompting. He seemed deep in thought. A wave of deep sadness might have crossed his face, or might not have.  
"A ship, buried out in the desert about fifty iles from here. There was more than enough functioning medical equipment there to do this. I found it for employers, and was paid with whatever I could carry with me from the wreck."  
"Really? A ship?" Millie asked.  
"Yes. It's where I got some of my equipment." Knives and Vash looked at him with questioning faces. Many, if not most, of the ships crashed on the planet were accounted for. The fact that anyone could find one of the remaining few, with any amount of functioning equipment at all, was astronomical. They would know. In their century-plus on Gunsmoke, they had found only a handful of wrecks that were unattended and still functional. That someone could find one at this late date was doubtful.  
"They hired me again to track down Vash. I'm not sure why." Ankhon commented.  
"It seems to me that Vash should go ask them personally." Meryl said, bravely. "Show them what it's like to be hunted!"  
"It's not that easy. They have a mercenary army at least as good as the Gung-Ho guns, but each wanting nothing more than to kill."  
"Imagine what would have happened if I had sent out all the Gung-Ho guns. All at once, all to kill Vash." Knives added, looking into the middle distance.  
"Vash would have died. He only barely won some of those fights." Meryl said, thinking.  
"Oh, I'm sure it can't be all that bad! Good always triumphs over Evil, you know!" Millie exclaimed. Knives and Ankhon looked away. They had both lost to Vash. Knives considered himself a good person, though. Saving the world from the humans who have so proven themselves unfit to rule. Ankhon knew he wasn't a good person, and didn't pretend to see himself as such. But both knew that evil sometimes triumphs over good. That darkness outshines the light. That sometimes, it didn't matter who you were or what you believed in, you were going to lose and become nothing more than a forgotten memory. 


	2. Chapter 2

This is my Disclaimer. I wrote it, so therefore I own a section of writing that states I do NOT own other things that I have written about. Odd, isn't it? Anyway, I don't own Trigun, Vash, Meryl, Millie, Knives, as well as hundreds of other things. Maybe it would be easier to say what I DO own in this story. That would be the plot presented in these writings, Ankhon, Venca, and the one-shot and main storyline villains in these stories.  
  
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Messages From Home: Chapter Two - The Path to Hell  
  
The hotel room was dark as pitch, the chill of the desert nights invading the thin walls and forcing the use of heavy blankets. Stealthily, a figure obscured by darkness made his way over to the bed. A sliver of moonlight caught the silver surface of a knife. Deep eyes watched the bed from a head enshrouded by black cloth. The figure on the bed rested, apparently deeply in sleep. Blonde hair, messily cut topped its head. Scars covered the exposed skin on the man's back and right arm. The watching figure glided over to the bed. With a simple, sharp motion, the knife stabbed downwards.  
Guns blazed, and the stabbing figure was thrown backwards even as his knife passed through the figure on the bed like it wasn't even there. From the shadows, impossibly well hidden, a third figure faded into view. A light gray cloak, nearly white. Long hair dyed a deep navy blue. The first figure watched, even as it's life spilled out onto the ground, as the figure on the bad dissolved into static and vanished. Its last sight was the hateful eyes of the man who had gunned it down, Ankhon the shade.  
  
"I told you they were serious about killing you." Ankhon said, when Vash entered the room. Vash looked with horror upon the figure sprawled on the ground, it's vital fluids sprayed across the room like a horrible coat of paint. Ankhon always used HV, high velocity, ammunition in his twin submachine guns. It enabled him to easily cut through any armor, but was complete overkill on anything less than a tank. The ten shots he had fired had gone right through the would-be assassin, more or less blowing it apart. They had continued right through the walls, and, indeed, through several rooms, before exiting the building's other wall and continuing through several other buildings before hitting the ground and digging into the solid rock until they slowed and stopped.  
"You nearly killed me!" Screamed Meryl, storming into the room. Ankhon raised an eyebrow. "One of those bullets missed me by less than an inch!" Ankhon shrugged.  
"It missed. That's the part that counts." Knives and Millie were the next to enter the room. Knives smiled at the sight. Ankhon was pretty good at predicting the enemy. Almost too good.  
"Is it another one of those things?" Millie asked. Ankhon nodded.  
"I guess so. This one isn't combusting, though, so I guess its metabolism is more normal."  
"Well, Vash. It seems as though if you don't go looking for your new enemies, they are going to come looking for you." Knives commented.  
"Seems so." Vash replied. He couldn't take his eyes off of the sight in the room. Utter slaughter. Ankhon had given his word not to attack them, but if he ever decided to attack Vash, or even worse, the insurance girls, there was a good chance that they could be killed. Ankhon seemed utterly without mercy where an enemy was concerned. He looked at Vash. Vash found the man extremely hard to read. He couldn't tell if there was concern in the eyes of the assassin and killer or not. Regardless, Vash knew he was wondering if Vash would be able to fight the people trying to kill him.  
"That hologram was good forethought." Knives said. Almost, but not quite, a compliment. "But we need more than fancy tricks."  
"What we need is to attack. No one wins a war on the defensive."  
  
The ship was a long way away. Well over several hundred iles. It would take several days to get there, with a good possibility of attack at every and any moment. Extremely dangerous, especially since they had no idea why anyone would want to kill Vash. Regardless, they had to go. Ankhon was firm in his decision to go, and gradually everyone had to agree that there was no real alternative to going and finding out what was happening. They booked passage on a bus, and were soon on their way. As usual, Vash and company sat in the back of the bus. Vash and Meryl sat together on one seat, Millie and Knives on the one across, and Ankhon sat by himself, draped over two seats and lightly dozing, in the seat ahead of Millie and Knives.  
"Vash, how do we know this isn't some plot to bring you out into a trap? It's been done before, you know." Meryl asked.  
"I'm sure it's a trap," he replied. "But knowing there's a trap is the first step in avoiding it."  
"But that man," she glanced at Ankhon. "Is completely untrustworthy. He tried to kill you once and I know he will try again. There's something suspicious about the way he has all that lost technology. Just like the Gung-Ho guns..."  
"He told the truth when he said he found it himself."  
"You can't be sure of that."  
"I'm sure. I don't know why, but I am absolutely sure he's told us the truth." Vash watched the sleeping man. Ankhon looked so different sleeping. He still looked and felt dangerous, but his face was completely different. Instead of the uncaring stoic mask he had shown them in his waking hours, he looked positively human when he was asleep.  
Meanwhile, Knives and Millie were having a conversation of their own. Knives looked out the window at the stark beauty of the desert wasteland while he spoke.  
"I don't know how this is going to turn out, but I can tell you right now that you have much less chance of surviving this than Vash or I." Knives said.  
"I'm sure we'll be okay. It's our job to follow Mr. Vash wherever he goes!" Millie said, bright as a falling star. Knives smiled faintly.  
"It's your decision. You should stay near Ankhon when there's a fight."  
"Why? Mr. Vash is an expert gunman. He can protect us."  
"Sure, but Vash is also the source of all this trouble."  
"He's managed to get through a lot on his own. Why, with some help, he's unbeatable." Millie was suddenly reminded of Nicolas Wolfwood. Tears welled in her eyes. Knives made no move to comfort her, but neither did he protest when she laid her head on his shoulder and cried herself to sleep.  
  
Ankhon was awoken by a rude bump on the road. He was nearly flung from his seat by the force of the motion, but managed to steady himself. Ankhon glanced back at Vash and his group. It seemed that everyone was asleep. Even Knives was taking a nap, Millie resting on his shoulder. Ankhon nearly smiled at the sight. He knew who and what Knives was, having read about him when he studied everything ever written on Vash in preparation for his attempt.  
A feeling tugged at Ankhon's mind. He stood up suddenly, startling several people sitting near him. He growled and walked to the front of the bus. The driver looked at him in surprise.  
"Stop here." Ankhon said, command tone ringing in his voice.  
"I can't do that! This isn't a designated stop on the-"  
"Stop here." Ankhon repeated, drawing one of he weapons. The driver got the idea, and stopped. Ankhon went on. "I have a feeling that something very bad is about to happen. If you see me get killed, drive away as fast as you can." The man nodded. "And my guns can shoot right through this bus, so don't get any smart ideas."  
Ankhon stepped off of the bus. He could sense trouble coming. Ankhon had learned to trust his feelings, and it had gotten him fame and fortune. Well, infamy and fortune, which was almost as good. He could never tell anyone, but the person he had been closest to in life was now in a hospital, because of something Ankhon had done. And that person had to be kept constantly on life support. If Ankhon didn't send the hospital a certain sum in cash every month, they would pull the plug. He could never refuse a job, because they could always threaten Ankhon with that person's life, holding him hostage. This was his problem now, not Vash's. Ankhon took several steps; sand crunching under his feet, before he saw his enemy. Clothed in stained and tattered wrappings under unusual and highly decorated plates of a bluish-gray metal set with varicolored stones, his opponent was highly visible. The unusually thin build, and yellow-gray skin betrayed it's not-entirely-human heritage.  
Ankhon drew his weapons and saluted his opponent. His enemy surprised him by folding its hands and bowing slightly. An honorable warrior, then. Ankhon, as usual, made the first move. He triggered his therm-optic camouflage and shifted to the left, leaving a hologram in his wake. Ankhon fired a short burst at the being. It moved with unnatural speed, dodging every one of his shots without moving from where it stood. Ankhon cursed, as he understood the implications. First, that his opponent could see him, despite the camouflage. Second, that his enemy wasn't going to be a lightweight.  
His opponent was suddenly in his face. Ankhon threw himself backwards, the punch that was aimed at his neck only barely touching his body. Even so, it was like a sledgehammer had been slammed into his throat. His opponent was strong. Very strong.  
  
Ankhon's first shots woke Vash. The Humanoid Typhoon jumped from his seat, startling Meryl.  
"Vash? What's going on?" She asked.  
"Stay here! I'll be back!" Vash yelled as he ran to the front of the bus, then outside. Meryl stood and shook Millie's shoulder.  
"Millie! Get up, we have to go see what's going on!"  
  
Ankhon was having a hard time avoiding the blows, punches and kicks thrown with incredible strength and speed. He managed to turn one or two aside, but he simply was no expert at this kind of combat. A knee drove into his stomach, throwing him backwards. Ankhon fell to the ground. Dazed, he looked upwards and saw the final, fatal blow descending towards his face. With a supreme act of will he rolled away from the attack. He found himself back on his feet, but was too dizzy to recall getting himself there. Ankhon looked into his enemy's eyes.  
"Why?" He asked.  
"This is my mission." It replied, surprising him. The thing's voice was female; its gender had been impossible to tell under its strange clothing.  
"Get a new mission. You won't be killing me any time soon."  
"Your weapons are useless. Your tricks of light are useless. You are nothing without them." She stated. Indeed, Ankhon was well aware he was not a skilled gunslinger. His greatest talent seemed to be finding technology and working with it.  
"I'm more than enough fight for you." Ankhon said, opening up with his weapons at close range. It still somehow dodged the bullets; it's body a blur of speed. Ankhon smiled when he heard a grunt of pain. It might be good at dodging, but not perfect. When he stopped firing, he saw that he had winged the creature, nicking it's left arm. Knowing the properties of HV ammo, he knew that every bone in that arm had been broken by the shock of the attack. How the thing was even standing was a mystery.  
"See? Give up now and I'll let you live. I try not to kill women and children unless I'm under direct orders to do so."  
"I will not give up. You are the slime that I am destined to kill."  
"Lots of people try to kill me. You won't be the first or the last." The creature snarled and leapt at Ankhon. Ankhon squeezed the triggers on both his submachine guns. They clicked on empty. Just as he thought it too late, a shot rang out. The almost-human's right leg was torn open by a bullet. The creature dropped to the ground, crawling a few more inches towards Ankhon before passing out. Ankhon looked up from the pitiful sight to meet the gaze of Vash.  
"Thank you." Ankhon said, simply. Vash nodded.  
"Get some bandages. We have to stop the bleeding." Said Vash. Ankhon hesitated for a moment, but then decided that he would let Vash handle this one in his own manner. He passed the insurance girls on their way out of the bus as he went inside to get what Vash wanted.  
"We missed it again!" Millie complained.  
  
"It's not human." Knives said, watching the form with mild interest. He had never seen anything quite like it. Nearly human, but with many subtle differences. Even its ears were strange, long and pointed, the back edge having a serrated, ragged look.  
"I think we should wake it up and demand to know where it's from." Meryl put in.  
"Maybe. Would it tell us?"  
"I doubt she's going to be very talkative." Ankhon said. "She's awake, by the way." Knives looked down at the humanoid form. She seemed asleep enough to... oh. Knives saw the arms trying to rip from the restraints. With the severe loss of blood and lack of leverage, she wasn't going to break them anytime soon. After a few seconds, she stopped straining and lay unmoving, but still probably awake.  
"We saved your life. You owe us an explanation of where you come from." Vash said, watching from across the room. The form on the bed sighed and opened her eyes. She was in a poorly lit room, restrained on a bed with primitive metal cuffs.  
"I owe you nothing." The being said.  
"How about your name, for starters?" Vash asked.  
"...Venca."  
"See? That wasn't hard."  
"I did not ask you to save my life." The being said.  
"I didn't ask you to try and kill me." Ankhon replied.  
"You are only a target because of your failure to kill Vash the Stampede!" It exclaimed.  
"Why is killing him so important?"  
"Because... he is one of the last ones."  
"That's not a very good explanation. Try one I can understand."  
"I doubt very much you could understand anything at all."  
"Try me."  
"Very well. You shall know the truth before you die. When project SEEDS left the Solar System, the best and the brightest were chosen to go aboard the ships, to start a new life. Or, rather, the best and the brightest who could afford to go onboard the ships." Vash blinked. He had thought everyone had left, not just some of the people. "Billions were left behind, billions of people who had been starving even before the ships were built, before every scrap of money, food, and useful materials were seized and taken away to be brought to another planet. When the ships left, all that was left was people, lost and leaderless. They turned to each other and said 'Who will lead us? Who will save us?'. The answer came when a single brave warrior named Giff decided to lead us on a crusade, to kill those who left us."  
"Oh. I get it." Ankhon said. "But... how in the name of hell did you manage to get here?" Before their captive could answer, an explosion in the city beyond distracted them.  
"Another is coming. And now I too am a failure, a target." Venca said, her face neutral. 


	3. Chapter 3

This is my Disclaimer. I wrote it, so therefore I own a section of writing that states I do NOT own other things that I have written about. Odd, isn't it? Anyway, I don't own Trigun, Vash, Meryl, Millie, Knives, as well as hundreds of other things. Maybe it would be easier to say what I DO own in this story. That would be the plot presented in these writings, Ankhon, Venca, and the one-shot and main storyline villains in these stories.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****************  
  
Messages From Home: Chapter Three - Dancing Flames  
  
A cloud of dark smoke rose from the city, lit from underneath by the hellish colors of burning homes. Screams resounded, louder than the echoes of the explosion. Vash cringed at the frightful vision before him. Everywhere he went, destruction followed. It seemed to be his curse. Knives was at his side, looking at him with a gaze that questioned. Vash knew he had to act.  
"Knives, stay here and look after the girls." Vash said.  
"Oh? You trust me enough for that?"  
"I have to. It's too dangerous out there." Vash drew a gun. Not his usual silver revolver, but the mirror image black revolver he had taken from Knives twice already. Now he was giving it back to him. Knives took the weapon with a mixture of eagerness and reluctance. Vash knew he was risking a lot. The Angel Arm could do an incredible amount of damage.  
"That bad?" Knives asked. Vash was entrusting him with enough power to destroy all of humanity. Knives couldn't, of course, due to his promise. But if he welshed on that vow...  
  
Ankhon took off his cloak. He looked at the near-human form of Venca, bound and unable to escape.  
"Can this new arrival see through Therm-Optic camo?" He asked.  
"No. I was given that ability in order to track you down. This one will not likely be able to do the same." Venca said listlessly. It was obvious she had already given herself up to death. Ankhon nodded.  
"Alright. Girls?" Mille and Meryl turned their heads to look at him. Ankhon tossed them the cloak. "There's a control built into the edge. If the fighting gets too close, hide yourselves and our prisoner."  
"Why are you helping us?" Meryl asked, skeptical of any gift from the supposedly evil gunman.  
"I have morals. Stay out of trouble." Ankhon ran and leapt through a window, shattering the glass into a rain of razor-sharp shards that accompanied him to the ground.  
  
At the heart of the city, a firestorm raged. Corpses burned on the streets like piles of trash. People stumbled through the oppressive heat, most burned horribly. Some tried to smother the fires with blankets, sand or water. They found their efforts wasted. The flames had a truly infernal heat, turning water into steam, puffing blankets into ashes, and fusing sand into glass before they could even effect it. Vash could do nothing to escape the hellish heat, and could only wait outside the reach of the flames for his enemy to make himself apparent.  
"Stop this! Fight me and leave these people alone!" Vash called out, into the flames. The roar and crackle of flames was all he heard for long moments. Then, a new sound started. It was nearly the same as the crackle of the all-consuming flames. Laughter, like that of a demon. A dark shape appeared amidst the towering pillars of fire. Taller than even Vash, the shadow stopped before the edge of the wall of fire. Vash looked into twin pinpoints of white-hot flame, the creature's eyes.  
"So you want to fight Imix?" The thing said, it's voice like the rumbling of a volcano.  
"If you're the one who did this, yes!" It laughed again, at Vash's bravery. The creature stepped from the flames. Vash could see that the creature had a lot in common with Venca. It, too, was nearly but not-quite human. However, the creature facing him was even less like a man than Venca. Scales covered its body, blood red in color, changing to an orange at chest, hands, and face. It's eyes burned like coals. A sword, oddly shaped and engraved with symbols that seemed to dance in the flickering light of the fire, was held easily at it's side. It's clothing seemed to be metal as well, but heated until nearly liquid, flexing as much as the cloth Vash wore. It laughed once more and took a test swing with it's sword, cutting a heavy metal pole in half, both cut ends left liquid-hot and dripping by the superheated sword. Imix looked at Vash and smiled. It was going to be easy to kill this single human.  
  
Ankhon struggled around the outer edge of the blast, trying to find Vash. Before he could find the outlaw, he saw something that required his immediate attention. An apartment building had been divided in two by the wall of fire that slowly expanded outwards from the center of the city, and a small crowd was gathered around the bottom. Screams sounded from somewhere near the top of the building. A voice inside Ankhon urged him to ignore it and move on. Another urged him to try and help. Ankhon sighed. He knew what he had to do.  
"What's going on?" He asked as he approached.  
"There's a little girl trapped up on the third floor! Nobody can get to her because of the fire!" A man shouted. Ankhon growled. Why wouldn't these people even try to help instead of mulling around?  
"I'm going in!" Ankhon shouted. He ran for the door and opened the stout iron-reinforced portal. A wave of heat thundered out that was so intense it nearly dropped him to his knees. Focusing, and drawing on his courage, Ankhon charged in.  
  
Vash fired at the thing's legs, hoping to cripple it without killing. The bullets melted from the thing's incredible body heat before even reaching the target.  
"Is that all you've got, little man? A toy gun?" Imix raised his left arm, the palm burning. Laughing maniacally, he tossed a ball of fire at Vash. Vash easily dodged, but was caught by surprise when the fireball detonated into a huge blossom of infernal flames. Luckily, he was only slightly burned. If one of those got too close, or if he got unlucky, and Vash would be just a spot on the ground.  
  
Ankhon found the stairway clogged with flame. Cursing, he fired his weapons upwards, smothering the flames in rubble from the ceiling. He scrambled up the uneven incline, only making it to the third floor by sheer good fortune. The gunman stumbled out of the stairway, dizzy from smoke and heat exhaustion. He decided on the spot to let someone else do the next good deed. He kicked in a door.  
"Anyone here?" He got no answer. Ankhon kicked open the next door. Still empty. As always, the third time was the charm. On his third attempt, he found the little girl. She was cowering behind her bed. Ankhon stepped cautiously into the room.  
"It's alright. I'm here to help." He kneeled down on the floor and helped the girl up. She couldn't have been more than eight or nine.  
"I want my mommy and daddy!" She wailed. Tears ran down her face. Ankhon cringed, thinking of the two bodies he had seen in the last room, burned almost beyond recognition. There had been a few strands of the same red-gold hair as this little girl on one of the bodies. They must have been her parents.  
"They're not here right now."  
"I won't leave without my mommy and daddy!" She screamed, louder and crying more. Ankhon stood up.  
"We have to go now." Ankhon looked down at her. The indescribable threat in his eyes faded and was replaced with worry, and a deep sadness. The girl stopped yelling and ran to him, sobbing. He carefully picked her up just as a beam in the hallway fell, rendering the door useless. A near- solid wall of fire now blocked the only exit from the room. Ankhon allowed himself a faint smile. If nothing else, he was good at making his own exits.  
The people on the street gasped as the wall to the girl's room was reduced to rubble. The sound of gunfire was almost deafening, even over the roar of the flames. Ankhon leaped the thirty feet to the ground, landing as lightly as a feather. The girl was in his arms, hugging his tightly. He slipped the submachine gun he was holding back into his holster, and set the girl down.  
"Now, did anyone see where a goofy guy with funky blond hair went running off to?" He asked. Stunned, the townspeople could only point him in the right direction, speechless. He nodded his thanks and turned to go.  
"Wait! Don't leave me!" The little girl cried. Ankhon stopped and looked back at her.  
"I have to go do something incredibly stupid. I'm sure these nice people can take care of you for a little while." The girl was about to break down into tears again. Ankhon mentally rolled his eyes. "I'll come back and check on you after I'm done, alright?"  
"Promise?" She asked.  
"Promise." Ankhon said, before running to find Vash.  
  
Even the machine gun built into his right arm was useless against the enemy he was facing. Bullets were simply no use against the terrible opponent.  
"Going to give up?" It asked. "You should, you know."  
"No way!" Vash exclaimed. He fired again, still to no effect. A fireball whistled by his ear to connect with some building in the distance.  
"Imix is going to kill you now!" Vash watched with mounting horror as the thing enveloped itself in flames, then charged at him. It stopped midway there. Vash blinked. It took a moment before the sound arrived. Gunfire. He turned and saw Ankhon. His High Velocity ammunition had arrived long before the sound.  
"Not so fast, Imix!" Imix's enveloping flames subsided, and Vash saw a grimace on its face. Ankhon had hurt it, the bullets moving too fast to be melted in the heat.  
"Imix will make you pay!" It threw a fireball, the largest one yet, at the gunman. Ankhon ducked it, the fireball uselessly expending itself on a wall behind him. Suddenly, a wall of flames was thrown up before him, cutting him off from the battle. Imix smiled. It could deal with that one later. The beast turned back to Vash. What it saw surprised it. Imix had thought Vash had used up all his little tricks. Ankhon's attack had distracted the beast long enough for Vash to play his last and most desperate card.  
Vash's right arm swelled and pulsed to a near-infinite energy. Tiny, vestigial wings trailed from the silvery surface of the Angel Arm. Vash hated this attack, but he had to use it. He had to save the others. He had to stop this thing, at all costs. Even if he had to kill it, to have even more blood on his hands. Legato's face popped into his mind. Once again he was being forced to kill one person for the sake of many others.  
Imix was still staring in disbelief when the light of Vash's Angel Arm blinded him with its radiance.  
  
Ankhon covered his eyes as the swelling light made even the light of the flames pale.  
  
The little girl watched the light with growing concern. She thought again of the man who had just saved her.  
  
Knives watched the light in disbelief. Vash hadn't been lying when he said it was going to be bad.  
  
Meryl saw the light, and it tugged at her heart. Vash must be fighting a truly terrible opponent. She prayed he was all right.  
  
Millie gasped. That was the same light she had seen once before, the light that had blown a hole in the fifth moon.  
  
Venca could only stare at the light. What unholy beings were these, that could do such a thing?  
  
A black cat ducked into a garbage can, afraid of the sudden light that was turning the night as bright as day.  
  
Imix died screaming. He felt for the first time in his long life the horrible pain of burning alive.  
  
Ankhon was the first to find Vash. The Humanoid Typhoon was sitting on a pile of rubble, crying. Although his control over the incredible power he possessed had been far better this time, he had still devastated everything around him. He had been lucky. His attack had only killed one person, the one it was aimed at. Vash had, after all, been firing into an area that had already been destroyed.  
"That power. The power that destroyed July, and blew a hole in the fifth moon. You really are the Humanoid Typhoon, no matter how much of a good guy you are. No matter how much you may try to be someone else; you can never really be anything else, can you? Not with power like that, I would think." Ankhon said. He had thought many, if not most, of the rumors around Vash's name to be just talk. But now that he had witnessed the man's true and ultimate power, he realized they had been true.  
"You don't know what it's like... I never wanted to kill anyone. I just wanted to... save them all..." Vash said, between sobs.  
"You can't always save them all, Vash." Ankhon said. Vash looked up. "There are times you have to sacrifice someone."  
"But... I want to save the spider and the butterfly..." Vash said. Ankhon had no idea what he was talking about, but got the general idea.  
"Vash, although we can't save everyone, we can make sure that the ones who die are the ones who deserve it. We can make sure that when it comes down to the corrupt versus the innocent, that the innocent are the ones that survive." Ankhon turned away.  
"Where are you going?" Vash asked.  
"I have to go fulfill a promise. Wait for me at the hotel. Let your brother and the girls know you're still alive. They care about you, you know!" Ankhon said as he walked away.  
  
He found the little girl in almost the same spot he had left her. The suns were peeking over the horizon already. She saw him and ran to the man most had described as a near-heartless killer. She let him pick her up, and she buried her head in his shoulder and started crying softly.  
"I thought you were dead, and I miss my mom and dad!" She said between sobs.  
"It'll be okay. I'm going to take you to the sheriff. He can help you out." He carried the little crying girl the several blocks to the sheriff's office. With a sigh, he opened the door and let himself in. Seated at the desk, ruffling through paperwork, the man looked busier than he could handle. He only barely glanced up as Ankhon entered.  
"What is it? I'm busy." The sheriff said, gruffly.  
"This kid needs some help. She lost her parents in that big fire, and someone needs to take care of her for a while."  
"I'm too busy for this right now. Wait. This is that kid that was trapped in that burning apartment isn't she? Then you must be..."  
The girl answered for Ankhon. "He's the hero who saved me!" Ankhon set her down and bade her to sit in one of the chairs not filled with paperwork.  
"I'll find somewhere for her." The sheriff said, after taking one look into Ankhon's dangerous gaze. The gunman nodded.  
"Good. You stay here, okay? The sheriff will find some people you can stay with, at least until everything gets sorted out, okay?" Ankhon waited for her to nod, then smiled at the child's bravery. He patted her on the head, tousling her hair, as he left. The sheriff stopped him at the door.  
"By all rights, I should arrest you now." The man said. Ankhon realized that the man knew who he was, about the bounty on his head.  
"And yet you won't."  
"No, I won't. You saved that kid, so I guess I owe you one. Just stay out of trouble, and get out of my town by sundown." Ankhon nodded and left, with one final glance at the little girl. As the sheriff sat down to try and figure out where to start looking for somewhere to place her, the little girl asked him a question.  
"Where is he going?" she asked.  
"I don't know, and it's not my business."  
"I bet he's going to go save more people!" The girl said, brightly. The sheriff sighed.  
  
"We're leaving." Ankhon said, as he arrived back at the hotel. By the way everyone was already packed, he could tell they had all decided the same thing.  
"We've caused more than enough trouble here." Said Vash, shouldering his pack.  
"What do we do with her?" Millie asked, motioning to Venca. "We certainly can't leave her like this!" Ankhon reached behind his back and drew a long blade. He moved over to the bound assassin. Meryl started yelling, but Vash stopped her.  
"Let him handle this." Vash said.  
  
Venca watched the human approach. He seemed different now than he had the previous night. Then he had seemed hostile, even angry. He just looked tired now. Tired and saddened by something.  
"Tell me, are you going to try and kill me again?" He asked. Venca blinked. Was this human that dull?  
"I cannot. I have failed in my attempt."  
"You can only try once?"  
"Yes. If we fail, we are to be destroyed."  
"I see. Will you take your own life?"  
"No. It is forbidden. We must die honorably on combat."  
"Fine." Ankhon slashed down with the long blade half-hidden in his right hand. Venca winced, expecting her life to end. Meryl gasped. Instead of killing her, the blade severed the binding on her good arm. Ankhon handed her the blade hilt-first. She immediately saw it and recognized it for what it was, the Silver Sword Imix had used. Venca looked at him in disbelief.  
"Hurry up and free yourself. We're leaving, and I want to keep an eye on you."  
  
The group, now larger by one, left the ruined town, another pile of rubble where people had once lived. There was still a ways to go before they reached their final destination. Vash didn't look back, refusing to look at his handiwork. Knives looked forwards as well, but only because he wanted to look ahead instead of into the past. Meryl followed closely behind Vash, glancing back now and then at the smoking rubble. Millie tried to brighten the mood with a marching song. Ankhon, in his Therm-Optic camouflage cloak once again, thought back on the destruction in the town - destruction caused by a single man. Venca stumbled along, last in the group. She couldn't believe she was still alive, was being allowed to live.  
  
The suns were setting on another day on dusty Gunsmoke. There was no peace to be found for anyone, it seemed, on the entire planet. 


	4. Chapter 4

This is my Disclaimer. I wrote it, so therefore I own a section of writing that states I do NOT own other things that I have written about. Odd, isn't it? Anyway, I don't own Trigun, Vash, Meryl, Millie, Knives, as well as hundreds of other things. Maybe it would be easier to say what I DO own in this story. That would be the plot presented in these writings, Ankhon, Venca, and the one-shot and main storyline villains in these stories.  
  
Messages From Home: Chapter Four - Power Struggle  
  
"You know, Vash, I find something interesting." Ankhon started. Vash raised his head from the dirty table, where it had been lying next to the surprisingly strong drink he had ordered. He had already had three. Or was it four? Anyway, the room was bathed in a comforting golden glow from his perspective. It would have been nicer if it didn't spin quite so much, though. He looked at Ankhon, waiting for him to continue.  
"I've been reading through copies of the reports the girls wrote out after every one of your little skirmishes. Do you realize that you only very rarely pay for the food and drink you buy? It seems like someone or something attacks you every time you sit down to eat. And the times you DO pay, it's usually with borrowed cash." The gunman continued. There wasn't even a trace of a slur in his voice, even though he must have put away even more alcohol than Vash. Vash was amazed at the man's tolerance for the sauce.  
"I never thought about that. Come to think of it, he still owes me fifty doubledollars!" Meryl replied.  
"Oh, Meryl, you know Mr. Vash isn't any good with money." Millie said, smiling deeply. There were few other patrons in the saloon. Something about the group just drove people away. An aura of power and skill seemed to hover over the experienced gunmen seated at the table. Venca was the only one drinking water. Everyone else, Knives included, was drinking something stronger. Venca seemed out of place. She just quietly sat and nursed her glass of water, not commenting or speaking up except to answer direct questions. It was as if she had never dealt with social situations before.  
"Think we can catch some transportation here?" Knives asked. "I'm getting tired of walking through the desert."  
"If we had the cash, we could buy or rent a car." Ankhon said. He followed his statement with a long gulp of his caustic-looking and -smelling drink.  
"Vash is still worth sixty billion, right?" Millie asked. From the way she said it, it seemed she had a plan in mind.  
"You bet. With all the destruction going on, it might even be higher at this point."  
"Why don't we turn him in for the bounty, then break him out later?"  
"Aside from it being illegal, dangerous, and stupidly easy to pull off?" Ankhon sarcastically asked. "I'm all for it. If we're lucky we can make free money and no one will get hurt."  
"Millie! That's against the law!" Meryl yelled. Millie blushed.  
"Knives, you and I should be able to break him out of any prison. What do you say?" Knives looked at him strangely. Ankhon sighed. "Well, I guess it was only a passing idea."  
  
Dark eyes watched the group. From outside the saloon, nearly invisible in the darkness of night, someone watched the group with interest.  
  
"I bet we could get there in two days if we had a car." Ankhon said. He looked at Venca, who was sitting at his right. He noted with some amusement that she looked disturbed and uncomfortable. Ankhon realized that they must look as alien to Venca as she looked to them.  
Nobody answered him. They were all off in little drunken worlds of their own. Even Knives was somewhat out of it. Ankhon sighed.  
"I wish to ask a question..." Said a voice. It took Ankhon a moment to realize Venca was speaking to him.  
"Sure. Go ahead."  
"Why do they act like this? I do not understand."  
"Lots of people drink themselves into stupors. This world is so desolate people will do anything to escape it, even if only in their own minds."  
"Why do they not repair the ships you came in? Then some could leave to find a better place."  
"No ship is functional enough to fly. I don't think anyone is even alive right now that could fix one if given the chance." He looked at Vash and Knives. "Well, not many people anyway. Humans are just strange like that." At the instant he finished speaking, the door to the saloon swung open. A troupe of men marched in. Each one carried a weapon, machine guns, shot guns, revolvers - they were very heavily armed indeed.  
"Can I help you?" Ankhon said, raising an eyebrow.  
"Now look at what I found here. There are enough bounty heads in this room to make all of us very rich men." Said a heavily muscled man at the front of the group. Ankhon stood up slowly.  
"I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean. However, you seem to have offended the lady here," He motioned to Venca. A few of the men followed his motion to the humanoid. They gasped as they took in her almost-human features. She stood as well, staying behind Ankhon. "Now, if it was just me, there wouldn't be a problem. But I have a code of honor. Apologize and leave, and we won't have to fight."  
"Cut the crap! You're coming with us!" The man said, a trace of stutter in his voice as he looked into Ankhon's eyes. Eyes that seemed to belong to a demon from the deepest pits of the abyss.  
"I gave you a chance. By the way - Venca, you can kill these people if you want."  
  
The men started shooting. The echoing thunder rolled down the streets. In a hotel room, a block from the saloon, a man sat up in bed.  
"Derned fools. Must be goin' after those ace bounty heads by themselves. I'd better git myself down there before they get away."  
The man stood and took his gear. A revolver, dented and dull from use. A black trench coat, bullet holes patched all along its length. Finally, a golden star, a badge.  
  
Venca leaped right over Ankhon, sword drawn. She struck before they even began firing, opening a man from shoulder to belly with a deadly swipe of the blade. Her speed made her a blur as they fired at her to no effect. Men fell around Venca's whirlwind-like attack, nearly all of them dead. Some of the few remaining looked to Ankhon. Their eyes were pleading. They wanted mercy, and it showed on their desperate faces. Ankhon just shrugged. He didn't show mercy to people that tried to collect on his bounty. He raised his gun to fire at the men and finish off the last few.  
Another hand grabbed his arm, stopping him. He snarled and half- turned. Vash was there, suddenly sober.  
"Stop this! You have no right to kill these people!" Vash said. His voice was half-pleading, half-commanding.  
"I will deal with these men in my own way, damn you!" Ankhon yelled. "You never leave an enemy alive!" Venca stopped her attack to watch the exchange. She was done, anyway. No one around her was going to be attacking them. The ones not wounded had lost all fighting spirit. The two gunmen were locked in a silent battle of wills. Neither was willing to give in. Ankhon's eyes narrowed. "Vash, you've killed with your own hands before. You're the one who has no right. No right to tell me to show mercy."  
Vash didn't have the words to respond to that. Ankhon knew how to hurt a person. The stinging verbal attack was a very low blow. Ankhon looked back to the men, and brought his other gun up to fire.  
Vash punched him in the face. At that moment, two things happened. First, whatever was in the men, keeping them in that saloon, snapped. The would-be bounty hunters ran off into the night. Only those too wounded to walk remained. Second, Ankhon turned back to Vash with a glare of utter contempt and hatred that was almost a physical thing. Vash could swear the man's eyes were glowing with the very lights of hell in that moment. He was truly afraid for a moment that the man would fire on him, despite the promise Ankhon had made.  
Long seconds passed. It seemed like hours, in that small room. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.  
Two shots rang out. Vash dropped to one knee. Meryl stood, terrified. Had Ankhon shot Vash?  
  
Knives was wondering the same thing, until he saw a pool of blood appear on the floor. Not under Vash, but under Ankhon. The murderous gunman remained standing for a few more seconds. Vash stood from where he had dropped to one knee, ducking the attack. Ankhon fell down heavily. He groaned and clutched his right side. Blood welled from between his fingertips like a grotesque red fountain.  
At that moment, a man walked into the saloon. He calmly held a smoking gun in his hand.  
  
Vash's eyes were drawn to the badge on the man's chest. Whoever it was, he was a marshal.  
"Stand aside. This is official business." The man said. Vash glared at him. He may not have liked Ankhon, but Vash wasn't going to hand him over to someone that could gun someone down like that.  
"I can't do that."  
"Git out of my way or I'll shoot you."  
"Then shoot me." Vash said. The man fired without warning. Vash dodged the bullet by inches, nearly getting hit by the unexpected attack. The man's eyes widened in surprise. From the side, Knives started laughing. The marshal turned and found him.  
"What do you find so funny? You want to try me?" Knives shook his head and stood.  
"What I find funny is just how outmatched you are. Do you realize any one of us could beat you in a fight?" Knives motioned, taking in the entire group. It was true. Meryl, Millie, Knives, Vash, Ankhon, Venca, any one of them was an expert fighter. Vash looked away for a moment to follow the marshal's gaze, and when the two looked back, they got a surprise.  
Ankhon stood next to the marshal, guns drawn and ready to fire. For a heartbeat Vash couldn't move, too stunned to react. When he did, it was too late.  
Ankhon fired, his high-powered guns ripping the unfortunate lawman into pieces. The wall, floor, and everything behind the man were ripped into shrapnel by Ankhon's attack. Blood showered the room like a sickly rain. When he turned to Vash, he was smiling.  
If not for his wounds, Vash would have punched him again.  
  
Ankhon was ready to go only minutes later. His jumpsuit had sealed his wounds at least as well as a bandage. The pain didn't seem to affect him, like he could simply turn off his ability to feel injury.  
"We should leave town." Ankhon said.  
"No choice, thanks to you." Vash said, coldly. From his tone it was apparent that the only reason Vash was even traveling with the man was that Ankhon was the sole member of the group that knew where they were going. They started off, hoping to get away from the town with no more encounters with the locals. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful.  
A mob had formed. Men, women, and children glared at the group with a universally hostile look. Unafraid, Ankhon led them through the crowd. Like Moses at the Red Sea, the crowd parted to let them pass. All except one boy. A young child of no more than twelve, he refused to move for them. As Ankhon approached, he called out to them.  
"You killed my daddy!" The boy said, nearly sobbing. He threw a rock at them. Ankhon caught the rock in midair and looked at the boy.  
  
Vash watched with mounting horror. What would Ankhon do? He had a sudden, horrifying vision of the murderer gunning down the crowd, simply out of anger. Vash knew the man was more than capable of it. He had thought he could change the man, that maybe the files on him were exaggerated. The police records implicated him as killing whole families, men, women and children. Vash had seen what he thought was a streak of honor, but he must have been mistaken. What he had seen back in the tavern was a man that killed without morals or reservation. It scared him.  
He watched as Ankhon fixed the boy with his intimidating gaze. The boy nearly faltered, but stood strong in the face of the impending wrath of the murderous gunman. Vash found his hand gravitating towards his gun.  
"I killed your father." Ankhon said, nodding. The boy had more than a strong resemblance to the marshal. Ankhon confirmed his accusation in a calm voice, not even the slightest bit of guilt or sadness in it. His hand dropped to his side. Vash nearly drew his gun right then. Ankhon's guns were at his sides.  
Instead of gunning everyone down with a sudden draw of his submachine guns, Ankhon just opened his hand, and let the caught rock drop to the ground. Looking past the boy, he walked past him, stepping around the child. He stopped with his back to the child, and said something else, almost an afterthought.  
"I'm sorry." Ankhon said. Without saying anything more, he walked away.  
  
They were forced to make camp in the rocks above the town, too tired to move through the night and unable to stay in the town. A small campfire provided some protection against the cold desert nights. The girls were already asleep, and Venca was meditating near the campfire. Vash couldn't sleep, unsure what to think about Ankhon. Knives saw this and sat down on a rock next to his brother. He didn't feel all that sure about talking to Vash, but he was his brother, and he still felt it was his duty, in some odd way, to help Vash.  
"What's on your mind?" Knives asked.  
"Ankhon." Vash said, deep in thought.  
"I see." Knives followed Vash's gaze. Ankhon sat at a distance from the group. From his angle, Knives saw him as a dark form silhouetted on one of the moons.  
"Why does he do the terrible things he does if he feels sorry for them?"  
"Usually he gets paid to do it." Knives said, a trace of mockery in his voice.  
"That's not funny. But really, why?"  
"I think he's got an honor code, a complicated one. He kills everyone and everything that's a threat to him. If that crowd had actually tried to stop him, they might all be dead now."  
"He's just going to kill and kill until there are no threats left?"  
"You know, Vash, I'm surprised he doesn't kill you. Because of you, he got shot tonight."  
"I think he would. He'd kill me in a heartbeat if he hadn't promised not to."  
"Would he? Vash, if Ankhon planned on killing you he would have gunned you down in that tavern."  
"Why did he stop, then?"  
"Maybe he doesn't think of you as a threat. Maybe he even likes you. Who knows? Humans are strange."  
  
Vash thought about that right up to the time he got to sleep, then more when he woke up. When he did, breakfast was cooking.  
"Everyone, breakfast is ready!" Millie yelled.  
"We've gotten pretty good at cooking over a campfire, thanks to our traveling with Vash." Meryl said, proudly. Justifiably so. Eggs, bacon, sausage, they had managed to make them all in just a frying pan and the open fire. Vash watched as Ankhon stood from where he had rested on top of a boulder overlooking the town. The man held an arm to his side as he rose. Vash could see pain on the man's face even at this distance. It all evaporated as Ankhon walked towards them. The pain left his face, his hand left his side, and he looked like he was completely uninjured. Vash felt a pang of guilt rise. Knives had been right when he said Vash had gotten Ankhon shot.  
"Vash? VASH!" Meryl yelled. Vash turned to find a plate being passed to him. "At least pretend you're enjoying your food."  
"I like everything you cook!" Vash said, a silly smile spreading on his face. He took the plate and started eating. Ankhon reached them and took a small plate. He sat down next to Venca.  
  
Ankhon watched as Venca poked at her food with a fork, as if to see if it was still alive. He almost chuckled, but stopped himself. He didn't need to reopen his wounds. Venca looked to him.  
"It is... different from what I am used to." She said, by way of an apology.  
"I'm sure. It's quite different from what I am used to, too." Ankhon replied. He liked the company of the near-human. It was nice to find an expert warrior who could make him laugh. He had known many expert gunmen. He had even met several people who had gone on to become Gung-ho Guns. All of them were either so serious they lacked a real personality, or were more than a little mad.  
"Why did he stop you from killing those people?" Venca asked, still poking at her food.  
"He doesn't like to think that sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Vash wants to save everyone, even the people that try to kill him."  
"That is... odd."  
"I know. I don't know how he's still alive."  
"His ideal is a very worthwhile goal."  
"Maybe it is. But it isn't a goal I think anyone can reach."  
"True. He has been forced to kill, has he not?"  
"On several occasions. They were rather extreme circumstances, though."  
  
After their meal, they trekked through the desert. Ankhon stayed far in the lead, his footsteps in the sand often the only sight they had of him in the endless dunes. They were headed off to the next town over, actually slightly off their course. They needed supplies, and transportation would be a big help. There was a strange charge in the air. Too many things were secret for them to trust Ankhon. If things weren't resolved, and soon, whatever he was hiding could get them all killed. 


	5. Chapter 5

This is my Disclaimer. I wrote it, so therefore I own a section of writing that states I do NOT own other things that I have written about. Odd, isn't it? Anyway, I don't own Trigun, Vash, Meryl, Millie, Knives, as well as hundreds of other things. Maybe it would be easier to say what I DO own in this story. That would be the plot presented in these writings, Ankhon, Venca, and the one-shot and main storyline villains in these stories.  
  
Messages From Home: Chapter Five - The Devil in the Dark  
  
The suns beat down on the small town with a fierceness not seen in recent years. It was truly an infernal heat. As a result, the town was quiet, the people resting, when the group of strangers entered the small town. Jeff was a child, the son of the owner of a local general store. He was the first one to come out and meet the strangers. Jeff hopped from the porch of his father's store ran over to the new arrivals.  
"Hiya!" Jeff said, waving to the six people. Half of them waved back. One of the men, a man in a strange jumpsuit with weird hair, kneeled down so they were at eye level.  
"Hello there little guy! Know where we can get something to drink?" The man said, smiling.  
"It's hot!" Jeff said. One of the other men, wearing a white cloak and a frown, raised an eyebrow.  
"Indeed." The frowning man said. "By the way, I think your parents are calling you." The man raised an arm to point back towards the general store, and Jeff caught a glimpse of body armor and heavy weapons. For some reason, though, the man didn't scare him. Jeff turned to see where the man was pointing and saw his Dad, yelling for him.  
"I have to go! Bye, weird people!" Jeff said, walking back to his father.  
  
"I'm sorry if he was any trouble."  
"Don't worry about it." Vash said, allaying the fears of Jeff's father. The man had gotten them all some water. He said it was to apologize for any mischief his kid had caused, but Vash thought it had more to do with being thankful for company. Towns like this only rarely saw visitors, and there wasn't even a real hotel or bar.  
"I have two spare rooms I sometimes rent out. You people are welcome to them."  
"That would be great!" Vash said, happy to have found somewhere to stay. He was growing fond of this town. In part, no doubt, to the fact they had heard little or none about the Humanoid Typhoon. Fame had its drawbacks.  
"That's fine. We can get food and supplies here too." Ankhon said. He leaned against a wall inside the general store. Vash could almost see the pain he was in from his wounds. Ankhon's face betrayed nothing of what he was feeling, though. Knives busied himself picking through what the store had with Millie. Meryl stood at a window, looking outside. The Plant was just visible from the store; it's glass globe and metal framework towering over everything else in the town.  
  
The following night brought sweet relief to the people of the town. The temperature cooled down quite a bit, but the residual heat from the ground and air kept away the usual chill. Meryl found herself unable to sleep, though. She tossed and turned. Every time she felt herself falling asleep, images would bombard her. Horrible images.  
Eventually, she gave up. She opened her eyes. The room was bathed in a strange, horrible glow. Meryl sat up. She was instantly awake. Meryl turned, something catching her eye. A pillar of light, that same terrible color, rose from the gargantuan glass globe that was the life of the town.  
"Millie, wake up! Something's happening to the Plant!" She yelled, leaping out of bed and trying to shake her partner awake from where she had fallen asleep. Millie yawned and stretched.  
"Meryl? I was having the strangest nightmare... where's all this light coming from?"  
"The Plant! We have to go wake up Vash and the others!" Meryl turned. A gaunt figure startled her for a moment. It was Venca, already awake. Venca saw the look in her eyes and nodded. This wasn't just an unhappy coincidence. She left the room and ran across the hall to where the men were sleeping.  
Meryl opened the door with a harsh slam, not caring about the noise in the face of the crisis. She cried out in terror when she saw inside. Vash and Knives were lying, quivering. Their eyes were rolled back, and drool dripped from their mouths. Ankhon stood, a grimace crossing his face for a brief instant. He had been kneeling next to Vash.  
"They went like this just after that light started. I'll bet you any amount they're connected." Ankhon said. Meryl couldn't decide if she saw worry or sympathy in his face. Maybe it had just been her imagination. Ankhon looked past her, to Venca. "Stay here and watch over them. You're more than enough to deter almost anyone. I'm trusting you. Insurance girls, with me." Ankhon said, as he moved out the door.  
"Wait! Why are we going with you?" Meryl asked, just as Ankhon got to the top of the stairs with his quick, economical pace. He paused to explain.  
"It isn't fair to make her watch over four people. I'm going to go to the plant and find out what's going on. Since you two can walk, and defend yourselves at least a little bit, you are going to come with me."  
  
Ankhon virtually ran through the streets. Millie, with her heavy stungun, was hard-pressed to keep up. It didn't help much that he could vanish from sight, and often did. It was frustrating matching his pace, a speed no man as injured as he was should have even been able to approach.  
"Meryl, what do you think we'll find at the plant?" She asked.  
"I don't know. I hope we can help Vash." Meryl said, between breaths.  
"And Knives." Millie added. Knives was a nice man, just a bit strange about some things. She found herself enjoying his odd jokes, as well as his company. Ankhon appeared for a moment at the entrance to an alley, beaconing for them to follow. Millie did.  
  
The plant was giving off enough of that disturbing light to turn night into day. The light was of a quality totally unwholesome, a light nearly impossible to describe to anyone who hadn't seen it. Ankhon found himself sickened by the color. He paused again and deactivated his camo, making sure the girls knew where he was. Ankhon had to keep them as safe as he could. Otherwise, Vash and Knives would never forgive him. As he passed beyond the last narrow, dark alley leading to the broad expanse of land around the plant, he stopped altogether. Something was going on. Something he had never, ever seen before.  
The energy from the plant was being changed. Ankhon didn't know how or why, but he could tell that something big, something bad, was going on. Anyone could tell that. That hellish light poured into the sky with the blinding intensity of a searchlight.  
Millie and Meryl exited a few seconds later. Ankhon was still staring at the light. It almost seemed to have a shape or form, one he couldn't quite make out...  
"Snap out of it!" Meryl yelled, in his ear. "We have to go save the Plant, Vash, and Knives!" Ankhon blinked, and turned from the light to face her.  
"I hope we can." He said. Before she could respond, he started dashing towards the plant control room.  
  
Venca tightened her grip on her sword. She knew what the light meant. The light that had carried her to this planet. Her people, back on Earth. They were getting ready to create another Gate.  
  
The control room was human technology. But it was so far removed from the present that Ankhon found it utterly alien. Almost as alien as the being he was hiding from. He had gone in without a plan, and had been incredibly lucky to have been able to duck into a dark corner when the being walked in from some area yet deeper in the Plant. Ankhon carefully studied the being, sure it was an enemy.  
It's yellow-grew skin and features marked it as being of the same race as Venca. It had the same lanky look and odd ears, that same strange bearing. It moved, in fact, like it's joints were somehow different from those of a normal human. The creature carried what looked like a huge gun. It handled the weighty-looking weapon as easily as if it were made of cardboard. Occasional trickles of energy crackled across the surfaces of the gun, that same horrible color.  
Ankhon decided that it was time to shoot first and ask questions later. He drew one weapon, and carefully aimed along it. With a shark's smile, he pulled the trigger and sent a three-round burst flying at the creature. He watched with utter amazement as they all missed, veered off- course in mid-flight by some invisible force. The being turned to him. Ankhon found himself staring down the barrel of a weapon he had no doubt would prove to be deadly.  
  
Meryl watched in horror as a gigantic bolt of power lanced from the being's weapon and slammed into the wall next to Ankhon. The steel wall blasted apart with a loud crack, and shrapnel bounced though the room. Electricity crackled around the gaping hole so suddenly blasted in the wall. Ankhon lay prone on the floor. Tiny fires fizzled on the ground. The being snorted once, apparently amused. A pool of blood started oozing from the fallen gunman, but Meryl couldn't tell how badly he was hurt from where she was. She gasped.  
The being reacted instantly to the sound, spinning on its heel and firing without a pause. Meryl felt herself fall as Millie shoved them both to the ground. Instead of killing them, the powerful bolt slammed into the ceiling. Meryl passed out when a metal beam slammed into her forehead. The last things she saw before she descended into the darkness of unconsciousness were stars. Stars and a strange red flower.  
  
She woke up when cold water splashed on her face. Meryl opened her eyes slowly. She saw a broken pipe hanging from the destroyed ceiling, the water dripping on her face. Meryl slowly rose. She had a pounding headache. When a hand put to her temple came back red, she realized that not all of the wetness she felt on her face was water. Standing on uncertain feet, Meryl cast about and tried to find Millie. Her partner was trapped under a heavy steel plate, too heavy for Meryl to move alone. Worse, she was unconscious and Meryl couldn't wake her up, not even by slapping her partner across the face in a fit of desperation. Meryl needed help, and she knew it.  
Meryl stumbled into the next room. Smoke and that strange light gave the scene of devastation an otherworldly look. Whatever that thing was that she had seen, it was gone. But it hadn't left before doing some damage. Every console was smashed. Every piece of equipment was broken. Ankhon lay in that same spot, in a puddle of his own blood. Meryl was almost sure he was dead until she caught the movement of his breathing.  
"Ankhon! You're alive!" She yelled, coughing on the smoke-laden air. Ankhon didn't respond. Meryl carefully moved over to him, nearly falling on the debris covering the floor. When she got closer, she was amazed he was alive. Ankhon's breathing was shallow, almost nothing at all. She could see several places in his cloak where red-hot shrapnel had pierced burning holes in the tough material. Meryl carefully removed his cloak to better examine his wounds. She set the irreplaceable lost technology of the cloak aside, reminding herself that she might need it if the murderous, homicidal gunman in front of her didn't pull though.  
She saw why he was in such bad shape. His body armor had repelled most of the superheated shards of steel. But one had made it through. A shard the size of a knife blade was imbedded in his ribs. She could see a curl of smoke around it. Meryl put her hands on the shard, to pull it out. She recoiled almost instantly. The blade-like piece of steel was still nearly glowing-hot. Meryl carefully wound the therm-optic cloak around her hands and used it as a buffer as she slid the broken metal from Ankhon's wound. No blood followed it. All the blood vessels it had severed must have been cauterized almost instantly from the incredible heat.  
Meryl threw the fragment and the cloak aside as she turned Ankhon over to try and wake him up. Blood trickled from his side. She realized his wounds had reopened. Amazingly, even more so for someone who had lost so much blood, Ankhon's eyes slowly opened.  
  
The world was a blur for a few seconds as the pain overwhelmed Ankhon's mental barriers. He knew he was badly hurt. Ankhon also knew he was going to live. He wouldn't allow anyone or anything to kill him. Not now, and not ever. With a snarl that was nearly a scream of agony, Ankhon levered himself to a standing position. His tortured muscles in his back and side cried out in pain. He felt tears of blood race down from his wounds. The suit compensated, and the bleeding cut off again. Meryl was kneeling at his side. He looked down at her and motioned for his cloak. She grabbed it and rose shakily to her feet.  
"You look like you've seen a ghost." Ankhon said, as he set his cloak around his shoulders. Meryl looked at him, eyes wide with fear.  
"How... how can you be standing after that?" She asked, her voice a quiet, hushed sound. "You lost so much blood..."  
"I've still got some left. I plan on getting more from that bastard that did this." He said. Ankhon started towards the exit.  
  
Meryl watched the man with a new level of respect. He didn't act injured at all. If she hadn't seen him so badly hurt with her own two eyes, she would never have known he was at anything less than his prime. He paused by the plate holding Millie down. Ankhon tried to lift it by himself, but couldn't move it more than an inch or so.  
"Help me with this." He said, not looking at her. There was a near- inaudible tremor in his voice. Meryl realized that no matter who this man was, he was still in horrible pain. He was only human, she reminded herself. She glanced once more at the blood puddle, reflecting the ugly shade of unnatural light with a slight reddish gleam. Meryl nodded, even though she knew Ankhon couldn't see her, and rushed to help him. Rushed to help a murdering man who had killed entire families with no mercy save her partner's life.  
  
Ankhon didn't let Meryl see his face. A tear had run down his cheek, mingling with the cold sweat. The pain was becoming too much. If he went through much more, it might surpass even his near-superhuman reserves. He knew he wasn't the fastest, the smartest, or the best gunman in the world. He had to hold onto something. His pride.  
"Grab that side." He instructed Meryl, as he took hold of the opposite side. Together, they managed to lift and flip the plate away from the trapped Millie. Ankhon tried to wake her up with a firm shake, but the insurance girl didn't respond. A burse marred one side of her head. Ankhon dug in a pouch on the back of his belt. When he found what he wanted, he broke it and held it under Millie's nose. The woman's face wrinkled and she woke up, all at once.  
"Glad to see you're still alive." Ankhon said. His work finished here, he turned away and started out of the building.  
  
"What was that?" Millie asked, with a sharp sneeze. Meryl watched as Ankhon walked away.  
"Smelling salts. Come on. We have to follow him." Meryl said, helping her partner to her feet.  
"But where is he going?" Millie asked.  
"He's going to get revenge. And that thing has to be after Vash! We just have to get back and make sure Vash and Knives are okay!" Millie nodded and the two half-ran, half-stumbled towards the General Store.  
  
Ankhon stopped in an alleyway before he got to the store. He gasped for breath, and tried to draw on reserves of inner strength he found already exhausted. Ankhon knew he had little, if anything, to fight with. Even with his weapons, and his armor, he knew he didn't stand a chance. Not just because of the thing's advanced equipment. He had dealt with things like that before. No enemy was unbeatable. But with so little strength, Ankhon wasn't even sure he would have the power to draw and fire his own weapons.  
Then a scream sounded from the store. Jeff, the son of the shopkeeper. Ankhon charged. He had found one, last reserve. He couldn't let an innocent child die because of his inaction. That denial gave him strength.  
Was it strength to win, or strength to die well? 


End file.
